One Piece: Kaido's adopted son, starts with the Eight Gates Formation.

The voice wasn't loud, it was childish and even carried a hint of languor and impatience from just waking up.

But at this moment, on this battlefield scorched by 15 million degrees Celsius, where even space itself was distorted, it was clearer and more piercing than any thunder.

For the first time, Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni's wrinkled face, as withered as tree bark, froze, his expression usually calm and undisturbed.

He slowly raised his head, his eyes, now as bright as the sun from activating the "Sun's Prison Garment," pierced through the distorted air and gazed at the massive war fortress in the sky.

There, a child of about two years old was sitting on a beach chair, swinging his two chubby little legs, with an expression on his face that said, "I'm very unhappy about being woken up."

Father?

A hint of confusion flashed through Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni's mind.

The colossal beast below, resembling a demon god and possessing terrifying vitality and savage power, is this child's father?

What is this? A family of monsters?

But this confusion was quickly replaced by the dignity and determination that had stood for a thousand years as the captain of the Gotei 13.

"Intruders, cease your arrogance!"

Captain-Commander Yamamoto's voice was hoarse and cold, devoid of any emotion.

"This wicked creature has committed heinous crimes and deserves to die. No one may stop it."

He didn't stop what he was doing.

The charred katana, imbued with the power of the sun's core, continued its slow yet unstoppable slash towards Kaido, who was being relentlessly entangled by countless souls!

This strike is the embodiment of the rules, the manifestation of "the end".

Within the domain of the Blazing Blade, he is the sun, he is a god!

"Tsk."

Above the sky, Lynn clicked his tongue impatiently.

"What a disobedient old man."

He jumped off the beach chair, his small body hovering in mid-air.

Then, he stretched out a small, chubby, white hand and casually reached out to grab the old man below, who seemed to have transformed into the sun.

It's like a child trying to catch a firefly.

A simple action.

However, the next second.

A scene that would be unforgettable for all the Grim Reapers, pirates, and gods present, as well as Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni himself, and whose very souls were frozen in time, unfolded.

Buzz—! !!! !

The whole world seemed to have been muted.

The "Sun's Prison Robe" worn by Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni, made of 15 million degrees Celsius and capable of incinerating everything, that invisible armor of the sun...

It's gone out.

It was not defeated by a stronger force.

It is not neutralized by some kind of ability.

Instead, it simply went out out of nowhere, abruptly, and without any reason.

It was as if someone had turned off a switch.

It was as if the sun had been crushed in someone's hand.

Along with it, the charred "Rising Sun Blade" in his hand, which contained the ultimate destructive power, and whose terrifyingly high temperature on the blade was enough to reduce everything to nothingness, also disappeared without a trace at the same time.

The Zankatana reverted to its original, unremarkable appearance, resembling a piece of burnt charcoal.

The scorching air around them, hot enough to dry out the soul, instantly returned to normal.

On the earth, the endless charred corpses and withered bones summoned by the "Trillion Dead Burial Array of Fire" seemed to have lost their source of power. The hellfire burning in their eyes went out all at once, and then with a "whoosh", they scattered into a pile of bone fragments.

Bankai... was forcibly interrupted.

"..."

Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni remained frozen in place, still in the posture of wielding his sword.

His aged eyes were fixed on the Zanpakuto in his hand, which had lost all its power. His cloudy pupils contracted violently due to extreme shock.

What's going on?

My Broken Blade...

What happened?

He simply couldn't understand it.

That wasn't hacked.

It's not that they were suppressed.

That's a higher-dimensional, more irrational... "interference".

It was as if the other party had simply used a single thought to erase the "concept" of his Bankai from its very root.

It's as if it's saying: Your fire is not allowed to burn.

Then, the fire really went out.

What kind of power is this?

Is this... the power of God?

No, even the legendary Spirit King could never do such a thing!

"Phew...phew...I'm saved..."

Below, Kaido, who had just escaped death, was panting heavily. He looked at the patch of skin on his chest that had been charred black by the high temperature and felt lingering fear.

It was so close.

He was just a fraction of a second away from being burned to ashes by that old man.

He raised his head and looked at the small figure in the sky. In those ferocious dragon eyes, there was no relief at surviving the disaster, only a heartfelt, incomparably fervent pride and self-satisfaction.

"Oh, hehehehehe!"

Kaido couldn't help but burst into wild laughter, his laughter filled with smugness and boastfulness.

"Did you see that, old man!"

"This is truly my son!"

"He is the strongest being in this world, no, in all worlds!"

Kaido's maniacal laughter was like the loudest slap in the face of every Grim Reaper.

The Seireitei was shrouded in deathly silence.

All the captains and all the team members stared blankly at the two-year-old child who was slowly drifting down from the sky.

Watching him walk step by step towards their invincible pillar in their hearts, Captain-Commander Yamamoto.

"Old man, your fire is a bit too hot."

Lynn looked up at the old man in front of her, who was not much taller than her but seemed to have aged hundreds of years in an instant, and complained in a childish voice.

"I'm even sweating a little from all the grilling."

"Next time, you're not allowed to play with fire, understand?"

That matter-of-fact tone, like that of someone disciplining a disobedient child, made everyone who heard it feel as if their worldview was being repeatedly crushed.

Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni's lips moved; he wanted to say something.

He wanted to ask, "What exactly are you?"

He wanted to ask, "What kind of power are you using?"

But in the end, he couldn't utter a single word.

Because he discovered that, before this child, the swordsmanship he had honed throughout his life, the Zanpakuto he was so proud of, the strongest Zanpakuto in Soul Society, and the determination and glory that had protected Seireitei for a thousand years…

It all became a joke.

A complete and utterly meaningless joke.

"puff--"

A mouthful of blood gushed out from Captain-Commander Yamamoto's mouth.

His spine, which had stood tall for thousands of years, seemed unable to support his aged body at this moment. He swayed violently and knelt on one knee.

The Ryujin Jakka in his hand also fell to the ground with a clang.

Clang!

The Zanpakuto that once burned everything and represented the highest fighting power in Soul Society fell to the ground with a crisp yet piercing sound.

The sound was like a heavy hammer blow, striking the heart of every Grim Reaper.

Captain-General...

He knelt down?

The man who stood at the pinnacle of the Gotei 13 for a thousand years, regarded by all Shinigami as an invincible legend, just like that... was defeated?

Moreover, the defeat was so complete, so...unbelievable.

"Captain-General!"

"Captain-Commander Yamamoto!"

The captains closest to the front, Soi Fon from the 2nd Division and Byakuya Kuchiki from the 6th Division, exclaimed in surprise almost simultaneously and tried to rush forward.

But their steps were as heavy as if they were made of lead.

It's not because of fear.

Rather, it is a profound sense of powerlessness stemming from the collapse of one's beliefs.

Even the commander-in-chief has been defeated, so what's the point of them rushing in?

Are we going to our deaths?

The entire battlefield fell into an eerie stillness due to the fall of Captain-Commander Yamamoto.

Both sides engaged in fierce combat involuntarily stopped what they were doing and turned their gazes toward the center of the battlefield.

The arrow was directed at the gaunt old man kneeling on the ground, and the small, seemingly harmless child standing before him.

"Gurararararara! Well done, young master!"

Whitebeard slashed away Kenpachi Zaraki, who was fighting him, and looked at the scene in the distance, letting out a hearty laugh.

Although he had long known that Lynn's strength was unfathomable, seeing the incredibly powerful old man being dealt with by his son with a wave of his hand still filled him with shock and pride.

"Wow! As expected of Lynn! That old man's flames were so hot that even my 'Steel Balloon' felt a bit too hot to handle!" BIGMOM stopped chasing Kuchiki Byakuya, licked his lips, and looked excited.

Akainu, Aokiji, Kizaru, and the other top fighters of the Beast Pirates all wore expressions of taking it all for granted.

In their view, with the young master taking action, everything should be over.

This is how things should unfold.

"What...are you...?"

Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni knelt on one knee, breathing heavily. He struggled to raise his head, his aged eyes fixed on Lynn, and asked in a hoarse voice.

He wanted to know the answer.

He needed to know exactly what kind of being he had been defeated by.

"I?"

Lynn tilted his little head, stretched out his chubby finger, pointed to himself, and then pointed to Kaido behind him who was laughing wildly.

"I am his son."

He looked at Captain-Commander Yamamoto with a "Are you stupid?" look and answered confidently.

"..."

Captain-Commander Yamamoto nearly spat out another mouthful of blood.

Is that what he asked?!

What he wants to know is your essence, the source of your power!

This feeling of talking past each other was a million times more frustrating than being defeated head-on by someone using Bankai.

"Alright, old man, you have too many questions."

Lynn waved her little hand impatiently.

"The game is over. You were too weak. It wasn't fun."

He glanced at the fallen Ryujin Jakka, and his eyes suddenly lit up.

"This wooden stick looks interesting."

He toddled over with his short legs and picked up the Zanpakuto that had lost all its flames.

"Captain-Commander! Don't let him touch your Zanpakuto!"

In the distance, Chojiro, a sparrow, let out a terrified scream.

A Zanpakuto is an extension of a Shinigami's soul; if it were taken by an enemy, it would be a great disgrace!

Captain-Commander Yamamoto also wanted to stop it, but he was injured by Lynn's "concept erasure" and didn't even have the strength to stand up. He could only watch helplessly as his beloved sword fell into the other's hands.

Lynn picked up Ryujin Jakka, weighed it in his hand, and then held it up to his eyes, examining it curiously.

"Hmm...it's dark and looks like a fire poker."

He commented in a childish voice.

Then, under the horrified gazes of everyone...

He opened his mouth and gently licked the strongest Zanpakuto in a thousand years.

"Ptooey! It has no flavor at all, it's not tasty."

Lynn stuck out her tongue in disgust.

Immediately afterwards, he made a move that made all the Grim Reapers' eyes widen in horror.

He stretched out his two chubby little hands, grasped the two ends of Ryujin Jakka, and then... gently snapped it open.

Click!

A crisp sound rang out, a sound that shattered the hearts of all the Grim Reapers.

That strongest and oldest fire-type Zanpakuto, "Ryujin Jakka," which has traversed the Soul Society for a thousand years and incinerated countless enemies.

Just like that, a two-year-old child broke it like a chocolate bar.

It broke in two with ease.

"..."

The world fell silent.

Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni stared blankly at the broken sword, the last glimmer of light in his aged eyes completely fading away.

His soul, his pride, everything...

It seemed to have been completely broken along with that crisp sound.

He could no longer hold on, his body swayed, and he completely lost consciousness.

"How boring, it broke in no time."

Lynn casually tossed the two broken blades to the ground, as if throwing away a toy he didn't like.

Then, he turned around, his pure black eyes sweeping over all the Death Captains still standing there.

"Alright, the most powerful old man is already asleep."

He clapped his hands and, in a tone that announced the continuation of the game, spoke lazily.

"So..."

"Who's next to play with me?"

"Who's next to play with me?"

Lynn's childlike voice echoed clearly in the deathly silent Seireitei.

But this time, no one dared to take it as a child's joke.

All the Shinigami captains who were still standing—Soi Fon, Byakuya Kuchiki, Toshiro Hitsugaya—instinctively took a half-step back, their faces filled with unprecedented solemnity and...fear.

Even the Captain-Commander, the undefeated legend for a thousand years, was defeated by this child with a wave of his hand, and even his proud Zanpakuto was broken like a snack.

What can they do up there?

Will you use your Bankai to become a new toy for this little devil?

In an instant, the morale of the entire Gotei 13 plummeted to rock bottom.

However, in this atmosphere shrouded in despair and powerlessness...

A gentle, soothing female voice suddenly rang out.

"What a bunch of good-for-nothing kids."

The sound wasn't loud, but it had a strange penetrating power, drawing everyone's attention involuntarily to the source.

In front of the Fourth Division's barracks, the woman who had always focused on healing and logistics, and whose face always wore a gentle and warm smile—the Fourth Division Captain, Retsu Unohana—was slowly untying her long braid.